GOALS FOR THIS WEEK (1)

My goals for this week (Nov 28th - Dec 4th):

- Load proteins 2 x week (Monday & Friday, or Monday & Thursday);

- Load the carbs on Tuesday & Saturday (or Tuesday & Friday);

- Low carbs on Wednesday & Sunday;

- Include mainly A and B-grade foods in my nutrition plan;

- Strength training on Monday, Wednesday & Friday;

- Cardio from Monday to Saturday;

- Walking from Tuesday to Friday.

Thank God a new week has just started. Everything looks bright and promising on Mondays. It's going to be a GREAT week!


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I achieve my ideal weight naturally and easily...

Day 5 / - 45

Hello. Today is Day 5 / - 45. 

Last night, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. I didn't misbehave, except for a 600 ml bottle of Coke Zero. I passed on the fried food and all the sauteed dishes... I just had some 'healthy' chicken, steamed rice and veggie salad.

Nevertheless, whoops!!!, I've made a couple of bad choices today  (I haven't overeaten, but I've added too many calories & too much sugar to my nutrition). So I'm giving myself an F-grade -this has to do with Tom's fit-losophy about grading your food choices-, and I'll just move on. 

But --- I'm going to have a meal replacement later so that by the end of the day, the total number of calories ingested won't skyrocket.

Now FFWDing to the next topic in the agenda. 

It's P-Day (Planning Day) today, so I'd better start writing down notes on my Fitbook. I'll evaluate my current situation, my goals, my performance during the first 5 days of the challenge, my needs, the things I have to work on and improve, etc. 

I'll come up with a plan for the week, and I'll be sharing it later.

Well, that's all for now.

Seems I'm doing 'not-so-great' today, but --- Nadina, Y.C.D.B. (You Can Do Better).

I'm SO SO SO happy to be here! 

Hope everybody's having a great Sunday.

Keep up the great work, friends! I'll blog soon!

WHICH ONE ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE?

Day 4 / - 46

Hi, everybody!

Today is Day 4 / - 46. 

This is the last time I post "the goal for today". Tomorrow is Sunday --- Planning Day (P-Day) for me; from next week, I'llstart posting goals (and stats) weekly.

Anyway, I'll go on posting my progress more often than not, meaning: how I'm doing, if I'm misbehaving or not (lol), etc.

My goal for today is (again): To do some serious BFFM work.

As regards nutrition, same goal: To eat wisely today.

As regards exercise, the goal is: To do a BFFM full body workout. 

Whoops! Seems somebody in South America skipped her workout yesterday! 

Well, that's all for now. 

So far I'm doing fine --- and today is a GREAT day.

I'm doing this and I'm really happy! 

Good luck, everybody!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

<Nadina.>

Day 3 / - 47

Day 3 / - 47. 

Day 2 was over and midnight found me achieving 90% of my goals (again!).

I'll work harder today!

PS: Sometimes you don't try hard enough! NO REGRETS, just try harder!

Now turning over the page... Today is Day 3 / - 47. I'll keep posting my goals daily for the next few days. Sunday is usually Planning Day (P-Day) for me, so next week I'll start posting goals weekly.

My goal for today (it was the goal for yesterday and I'm renewing it) is: to do some serious BFFM work.

As regards nutrition, same goal as yesterday: I will eat wisely today.

As regards exercise, my goal is: I'll do a BFFM full body workout.

Well, that's all for now. So far I'm doing fine, and I'm sure today will be a GREAT day.

I'm doing this and I'm really happy! 

Day 2 / - 48

So Day 1 was a good one. Meals were OK, and I got in a light workout, as planned. 

GOALS for Day 1: 90% achieved. What was missing? I must eat my last meal earlier. I'll work on that.

Today is Day 2 / - 48. 

I'll be posting my goals daily for the next few days. Sunday is usually Planning Day (P-Day) for me, so next week I'll start posting goals weekly.

I got started yesterday, so my goal for today is: to do some serious BFFM work.

As regards nutrition, same goal as yesterday (I will transcribe it here):

(GOAL 1 =) I will eat wisely today - which means:

- I will stop when I'm comfortably filled;

- I won't overeat;

- I will watch my carbs;

- I will abstain myself from drinking sugary drinks;

- I will eat starchy and simple carbs mainly during the first half of the day;

- I will eat only fibrous carbs late in the day;

- I will include a source of protein in every meal;

- Breakfast will be my largest meal and dinner will be my smallest one;

- I will take my last meal as early as possible;

- I will have a meal every 2.5-3 hours.

As regards exercise, new goal: (GOAL 2 =) I will do a BFFM workout today (and I'll post it later).

(GOAL 3 =) I will keep track of my meals and workouts in my Fitbook.

(GOAL 4 =) I will go to bed earlier tonight.

Well, that's all. So far I'm doing fine, and I'm sure today will be a GREAT day.

I'm doing this and I'm really happy! 

HAVE A GREAT DAY, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

FIRST REPORT - WEIGH-IN & STATS

WEEK I - INITIAL STATS

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 179.1 lbs / 81.4 kg

Body Fat %: 29.4%

LBS Lean: 126.5 lbs

LBS of Fat: 52.6 lbs

Method used to measure BF %: AccuMeasure calipers.

MEASUREMENTS

Neck: 14" / 35.5 cm  

Chest: 42.1" / 107 cm 

Biceps, relaxed:

==== Left: 13.2" / 33.5 cm 

==== Right: 13" / 33 cm

Biceps, flexed:

==== Left: 13.4" / 34 cm

==== Right: 13.2" / 33.5 cm

Waist: 39" / 99 cm  --------- Ugh! 

Hips: 41.3" / 105 cm  ------- Double ugh! 

Thighs:

==== Left: 24" / 61 cm

==== Right: 23.6" / 60 cm

Calves:

==== Left: 15.4" / 39 cm

==== Right: 15.7" / 40 cm

Goals for today:

My goal for today (Day 1/-49) is just to get started.

I will eat wisely today - which means:

- I will stop when I'm comfortably filled;

- I won't overeat;

- I will watch my carbs;

- I will abstain myself from drinking sugary drinks;

- I will eat starchy and simple carbs mainly during the first half of the day;

- I will eat only fibrous carbs late in the day;

- I will include a source of protein in every meal;

- Breakfast will be my largest meal and dinner will be my smallest one;

- I will take my last meal as early as possible;

- I will have a meal every 2.5-3 hours.

I will do a light workout today.

So this is it: just to get started. 

The idea is to get the ball rolling. I won't overdo it today. I won't overtrain. I won't overreact. Why is this so? Well,  I haven't slept enough, I haven't exercised for over a week, I haven't trained hard for nearly a month. Besides, taking, downloading, resizing and uploading pics, taking measurements, converting them into pounds and inches, calculating, checking, posting and starting doing all that's mandatory has become a little tiring (no complaints, I'm fine with this).

I have to adjust, and I need at least 48 hours to 'start the car', if you know what I mean. Anyway, I'm confident that by Monday, I'll start behaving like an F1 car. 

Tomorrow I'll start fine-tuning my plan. During the next days, I will be making adjustments to my routine. There will be carb tapering, loading the weights, etc. I will be using more tools, applying more techniques for fat loss --- everything in due time. Today I'm just warming up. 

I know I can push myself real hard at the beginning, and then get SO stressed - which would actually take me nowhere. "Slow and steady wins the race" - okay, not so slow, right?, I don't want to be the last to get to the finish. But Sunday is usually my planning day, and I'll be speeding up as from Monday next week.

So far I'm doing fine.

Thank God doing the Holiday Challenge, at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle Inner Circle! I'm really happy! 

First Day

So I've just joined the 2011 Burn the Fat Holiday Challenge at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle Inner Circle.

(URL: http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com)

My start date is today, November 23rd, 2011. The challenge will last 49 days.

I will transcribe my first post in the Forum of the Holiday Challenge:

I've been on a personal fitness journey for over 2 years now. So far, I've lost 85 lbs. 

I'M SO EXCITED to be back here, at the Inner Circle, joining you for the 2011 Holiday Challenge. This is, in fact, my second challenge. And this time, you're going to find me among the finishers.

What is more, I'm already working hard to earn my spot among the female finalists. Like all of you are surely doing, gals. Let's do it!

BTW, I'm SO HAPPY to be on this team with Sheri, Debby, Georgia and Chad - we are 'Burning Like TNT (There's No Tomorrow)'. Wooohooo! Aren't we... explosive?!? (LOL)

That said, I'll 'declare' my overall goals for this challenge:

- I will lose OVER 10 lbs of fat in 49 days;

- I will boast a reduction in body fat percentage of 3.5%, discarding a minimum of 0.5% BF per week.

- I will gain as much lean body mass as I can;

- I will improve my strength, agility and endurance (I know this one is too general, but I'll be reformulating it every 2 weeks with more specific terms);

- I will help take my team to the finish.

And to reach those goals, I vow to:

- eat BFFM style;

- train REAL hard:

* cardio 5-6 x week: fast walking / walking with weights (alternate) as first thing in the morning / elliptical trainer / follow routines on video;

* strength training 4 x week, some days at home (with my dumbbells, barbell, kettlebells, resistance bands, medicine ball, etc.) and some days at the Gym; 

* vibration platform sessions (as a complement) on strength training days / alternate days;

- keep track of my meals and workouts consistently, every day, in my Fitbook;

- stay positive and focused on my goals;

- PLAN, PLAN, PLAN;

- support and encourage my teammates and fellows at the IC.

I'll add the following: I'm already 115% committed to this challenge. One of the reasons is, I'm 115% sure that NOW is the RIGHT time and the RIGHT place (the Inner Circle) to be doing this - so no excuses, no delays, "N-I-K-E, JUST DO IT!" 

Everyone who finishes this challenge is a winner. So I'll be a winner. I'm a finisher. I'm no quitter!

I'm human, we all are, but --- Teamies: YOU CAN COUNT ON ME for this. We're all eager to begin, we're craving to get the results we want, and I'm sure WE WILL ACHIEVE. 

T-E-A-M: Together Everyone Achieves More!

So good luck to all of us, IC fellows!   

But even better than that, let's try to do our best so that we need no luck at all, right?

See you around, guys, and I'm also looking forward to meeting you at the end of this 49-day journey.

LET'S FIND OUT TOGETHER HOW FAR WE CAN GET!!!

All the best,

<Nadina>

"We must risk going too far to discover just how far we can go."

Your Time Is Now

Join the Challenge!

Getting ready to join the Holiday Challenge 2011!

By courtesy of Tom Venuto and the Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle Inner Circle

JOIN US NOW!

"VENI, VIDI, VINCI", said I - MY 2011 BFFM HOLIDAY CHALLENGE JOURNAL

(--- «'VENI, VIDI, VINCI', said I» is the title of my thread at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle 2011 Holiday Challenge.)

"Veni, vidi, vinci", the title of my challenge journal, means "I came, I saw, I conquered." 

Julius Caesar is reported to have uttered such words in 47 BC as a comment on his brief war against the king of Pontus (Pontus was a kingdom in Asia) in the city of Zela (currently known as Zile, in Turkey).

The words "I came, I saw, I conquered" suggest that he got there, he saw the land, he went into battle, he won. Everything happened SO fast. And that was all.

Why have I chosen such exotic title? What does it mean to me? Well, as soon as the challenge is over, this is what I want to say: "I entered the challenge ('I came'), I went into battle (it's not a battle against other challengers, it's a personal battle to overcome my own obstacles), and I won! ('I conquered')"

Reaching my goals, overcoming my barriers, getting where I want to get, ACHIEVING -that's what conquering means to me.

Anyway, why deny it? I want to gain my spot among the finalists. Like any of you, guys. Like all of us do. 

Time will tell.

In my humble opinion, you can't win a battle if you don't fight, and you won't fight unless you think you're going to win, or to gain something, whatever it is -a prize, a reward of any kind, a better body, or just the inner satisfaction of having stuck to your goals-; you name it: rewards are, more often than not, personal. 

(I prefer seeing myself as a warrioress at this challenge. That's why I love the attitude shown by the team Sparta - I think you guys are all fired up to achieve your goals!)

... And I want to make such a HUGE stride = losing over 10 lbs, but to be honest, the exact figures are even HIGHER = in 49 days! (Real fast, huh?)

Well, I don't want to get sidetracked and go on boring you.

And honestly, I don't know how to finish this post... 

Oh, OK, I'll say this: I WILL CONQUER.

And I wish everybody here nothing but the same. CONQUER YOUR BARRIERS. NO EXCUSES! (Oh, that's another team's name...)  

Nadina Over and Out  = = = == = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = =

KEEP AT IT

YOU'RE NO QUITTER

We live our lives from day to day not knowing about tomorrow

Or what the future holds for us in laughter or in sorrow

And every day we live to see for us a new beginning

The sadness that we feel in losing increase our joy in winning,

You've had your share of downs of late but in you there's the fighter

And every day you live to see hope for you shining brighter

Your lust for life and your will to live than anything is greater

Why wish to meet the reaper soon when you have to meet him later

Though others on you cast a doubt dismiss you as a minor sinner

You battle on against the odds one day you'll be a winner,

You battle on against the odds though others well may doubt you

But they don't know the one you are or anything about you,

You've hung in there through the hard times and about life you don't feel bitter

And all good things will come to you for you are not a quitter.

Francis Dugan.

"BELIEVE AND ACT AS IF IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL"